Criticizing old bands because they sound like new bands seems like criticizing Tolkien for basing his stories on D&D. They drove pop music forward, showed the value of people writing their own music and helped create studio technique. You don’t have to listen to their music to notice their shadow.

They also demonstrated how much money was on the table for people to grab for. But it’s ironic they gave up touring to make records when the reverse turned out to be commonplace.